Possession
by Kore88
Summary: When a visiting lord takes an interest in Merlin, Arthur intervenes with his father to protect him. Unfortunately it end up making things a lot more complicated.  Set in the break between Series 2 and 3.
1. Prologue

Arthur was not looking forward to the dinner with his father. It was to be a family affair, just them alone in the hall with only the minimum of servants to silently attend. Merlin wasn't to be one of them. He had not yet mastered the art of making himself invisible yet constantly present that Uther preferred in these more intimate dinners. Not to mention the fact that he was so terrified of Uther he'd probably end up spilling wine all over both of them or something. Arthur found himself chuckling as he pictured the numerous ways Merlin could have found to embarrass himself in so simple a situation.

His smile at the thought of Merlin, beetroot and flailing around in an embarrassed fashion was wiped off his face as he walked into the hall. Lord Colwyn was there sat at the table with his father. Arthur carefully arranged his face into a mask of perfect composure as he tried to sort through his feelings about this development. True these quiet dinners had been more awkward and uncomfortable since Morganna's departure; her voice was no longer there to fill the silences which fell between him and his father. Yet he couldn't help but feel hurt that his father had felt the need to introduce someone else to break them.

"If there is anything you require to make your stay more comfortable you have to simply ask"

"Oh I can assure you the room is well furnished and the food has of course been excellent …"

"But?"

"Well I would perhaps be in interested in a little … company,"

The way Lord Colwyn said it left Arthur in no doubt of exactly what kind of company he had in mind.

"Perhaps one of the servants" the man continued.

Arthur spared a half glance to his father but he knew he was unlikely to object. His father did not indulge in servants that way but he had no objections to allowing the nobility who wished to.

"Of course" Uther said inclining his head towards the guest, keeping his eyes away from Arthur's gaze. Years of diplomacy left Arthur able to keep his composure, belying the sense of disgust this conversation gave him. Not just at the lord but at himself. There was a time when he might have considered using servants in that way, but since he had known Gwen and of course Merlin he understood just how wrong it would be to abuse his power that way.

"Was there one in particular you had in mind?" he heard his father ask.

"Well now that you mention it there had been one who has caught my eye"

"Go on"

"A young boy, tall, pale slim, dark hair. I think he may be your servant Prince Arthur" the lord said turning to face him. A cold feeling settled in Arthur's chest, like someone had just poured ice through his veins. Merlin, he meant Merlin. The thought of Merlin, HIS Merlin forced to, forced to do …that with this man. The image of this man touching Merlin seemed to have lodged itself in his brain.

"No!" the word was out of his mouth before he realised. His father turned to look at him sharply.

"He is not your servant?"

"No. He is my manservant. He is mine and I do not share". Arthur could almost feel his father's raised eyebrows but all his attention was focussed on the Lord across the table. Trying to show his resignation in his gaze whilst resisting the urge to stand up and snap the man's neck across the table for even daring to think of Merlin that way, Arthur was surprised to hear the lord respond with a low chuckle.

"Well, well I didn't realise you had that kind of relationship with your manservant".

"Is this true Arthur, have you been sleeping with your manservant?"

"I…" Arthur was finding it hard to formulate an answer to the question; of course he had thought about it. Every time Merlin's hand brushed his skin, every night when they had been hunting and had lain their bedrolls within touching distance, gods sometimes just seeing that smile was enough to bring the warm coil of desire to Arthur's stomach. But he was in no doubt as to what Merlin's opinion of such a liaison would be, and there was no way he could ever force Merlin. But perhaps by telling his father that he had would be the best way to protect the boy. His father may be disappointed but it would be worth it. He forced himself to look up to meet his Father's gaze, knowing that he had to see the reaction for himself.

"I .." he started again but quickly realised his mistake, despite their differences he couldn't lie to his father when they were face to face like this.

"No, I haven't slept with Merlin" he said, ashamed to find himself blushing. He was surprised to see a look of disappointment and perhaps anger crossing his Father's face, and turned away in time to see the look of confused bewilderment on the face of the lord opposite.

He tried to follow his Father's line of reasoning, why would he be disappointed that he was not sleeping with a servant, and a male one at that. The answer came to him quickly, if he wasn't sleeping with Merlin why did he care so much about him being loaned out to other lords. Caring so much for one's manservant was unseemly. He had been punished before for their attachment. If he didn't do something to salvage this situation now, his father could easily do something worse to Merlin just to teach Arthur a lesson. However if he had been sleeping with Merlin, then not wanting to share him with a lesser noble would be perfectly understandable. He was going to have to find a way to lie about this that would protect Merlin from both his father and Lord Colwyn.

"But I only have not slept with him" he began hoping his father would think he was only looking down at the table from embarrassment, "because…" he racked his brains for a suitable reason "because he has not yet come of age, and I thought it would be inappropriate to sleep with someone who had not yet reached manhood". He cursed himself for not thinking of that in the first place when Lord Colwyn first started this conversation. Though he reasoned he hadn't entirely been responding rationally at that point.

"Very noble of you sire" Colwyn responded clearly trying for unsubtle flattery to make up for angering the prince.

"The boy never seemed that young to me", Arthur heard the unspoken question in his father's tone.

"Merlin looks older then he is, he doesn't come of age for another couple of months, you can ask Gaius."

"Hmmm" Arthur was pretty certain his father would be doing just that, and "and how is it, that you know this?"

Please Uther if I had a servant as appetising as your son's here and had been waiting for what two years until he came of age, I would know exactly what day that would happen on. And of course be understandably angry if anyone suggested taking that prize from me." Lord Colwyn said, inclining his head towards Arthur across the table. Arthur could only manage to nod dumbly in response, the idea of viewing Merlin like that leaving a sour taste on his tongue, as if he was some kind of possession.

"I will obviously be happy with a different servant, perhaps the young lad I saw in the stables earlier"

Arthur heard his father murmur an assent and breathed a sigh of relief as the conversation moved back around to other topics.

Lord Colwyn bowed again before leaving the hall, and Arthur stood to leave the table.

"Arthur." He turned to meet his father's gaze. "I will, as you suggested, be questioning Gaius in relation to when your manservant will come of age, and when he does I expect to see that the situation is as you described. I will be very disappointed if I found you had lied to me Arthur."

"Of course Father, I understand" Arthur said quietly before quickly turning and leaving the hall. He managed to keep his composure calm until he got back to his chambers. He knew he couldn't actually do that to Merlin. Although the thought of it alone was exceedingly enjoyable, the thought of the pain and hurt on Merlin's face was unbearable. No he would have to find some way to fake this, if he and particularly Merlin were to survive unscathed. He began to feel more confident, he has three moths to come up with a strategy and if there was one thing Arthur Pendragon was good at. It was strategies.


	2. Chapter 1

Authors' Notes: Sorry for the huge delay in between posting chapters. I thought I would post it and the maybe have one or two people reading it to give me a slight impetus to write faster. However I was overwhelmed with the number of people who subscribed or added it to their favourites. Thank you all. It did make me decide that what I had written to go next needed to be a lot better and then when I had finally finished my Beta and I passed it back and forth many times to try and get it perfect.

Also sorry if adding these author notes a bit after I posted makes you all get a second subscription alert, I am still getting used to .

"Will there be anything else sire?" Merlin asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

"Merlin, I know being in my presence is the only thing that makes your petty existence worth living, but as you have already asked me that question three times tonight, do you think you might get round to actually leaving my bedroom anytime soon?"

Merlin sighed it was true he had been reluctant to leave that evening, he knew that he had probably been being overly hopeful. But still tomorrow was his birthday and he knew Arthur knew that by now. He had brought it up earlier in the day, with a suitable theatrical yawn in the vague hope that the prat who employed him would get the subtle hint to allow him the grace of a lie in on the day he came of age. He couldn't help noticing the vaguely worried look that had flittered across Arthur's face at that point, which probably meant that his birthday had been completely forgotten and he could expect no present from the prince. Again. However this had only made him more hopeful that a reprise from his morning duties would be offered as a consolation.

"I, um well yes Sire, goodnight."

"Goodnight, Merlin."

Considering the exasperation in the Prince's tone Merlin decided that a lie in was definitely out of the question.

Although waking up the next morning at dawn was, as always, a challenge Merlin could at least today of all days look at the bright side. Being up earlier did mean he got to enjoy his birthday for longer and, as much as he hated to admit it to himself, there was something strangely satisfying about waking Arthur up in the morning. First thing in the morning was when Arthur was least like his normal, prattish self. Of course then he woke up.

Still, Merlin felt more than usually inclined to be cheerful today, so as he walked through the castle to Arthur's chambers he couldn't help but have a giant grin on his face. The only slight mood dampener was the strange looks he seemed to be receiving from the other castle occupants that he regularly saw in the mornings. He managed to mostly ignore the weird treatment until the cook did a complete double take when he walked through the door of the kitchen and wished everyone a good morning. Merlin began to worry that something magical and embarrassing had happened during the night and he hadn't noticed. Like when he used to have dreams in the night about being an animal and woke up with whiskers. He hadn't managed to accidentally perform magic in his sleep for years but it would be just his luck for it to start happening again in time for him to look like an idiot on the day he came of age. He was just opening his mouth to ask what was wrong when one of the other cooks spoke.

"That's weird I could have sworn we were doing breakfast not lunch." For a brief second the idea of some kind of time spell gone wrong flashed through Merlin's head. Closely followed by the horrible idea of what Arthur would be like if that meant he had skipped breakfast. The fear was quickly dispelled, however, by the peals of laughter that erupted from the rest of the cooking staff. Now Merlin was just confused.

"What?"

"Just you're not normally awake at this kind of time in the morning."

"Yes, I am. I get Arthur's breakfast every day."

"What she's saying is that normally at this time in the morning we're lucky if two words pass your lips."

"Oh." Merlin regained his smile, realising that nothing was going on but the kitchen staff teasing him. "Well I come of age today so maybe I have finally developed the ability to be awake before noon."

Merlin exited the kitchens amidst a chorus of laughter and congratulations, cramming into his mouth the honeyed oatcake the cooks had given him when they heard his news. There was nothing that could ruin his mood today, he was sure.

He walked into Arthur's chambers and, after placing the breakfast on the table, busied himself with all the tasks he had to perform before waking Arthur. As usual, though he tried not to, he inevitably found himself sneaking longer and longer glances at the prince lying sleeping on the bed. Merlin enjoyed seeing the way his blonde hair lay all tussled on the pillow, far messier and disorganised than Arthur would ever allow any part of himself to be when he was awake. His expression was calm and peaceful, with his mouth upturned into a gentle smile, missing all the cares and worries the Prince normally carried. Today the view was particularly tempting as Arthur had pushed most of his covers off in the night and lay with his chest exposed. The crack of light that was coming though the curtains fell directly onto his lower stomach and the play of light and shadow as Arthur's body gently moved with his breathing was almost mesmerising. Arthur grunted in his sleep causing Merlin to snap out of his reverie and come to the realisation that he had just been staring at Arthur's chest for far longer then he should have done. Well, he supposed he could allow himself a treat for his birthday.

Still it would be best not to let the prat's breakfast get cold so Merlin went over to the windows to pull the curtains back. The light that flooded into the room, even at this early morning hour, was enough to make Arthur stir in his bed.

"Merlin!" Arthur exclaimed grumpily, burying his head further into the pillow.

"Time to wake up, Sire." Merlin said, walking towards the bed. Arthur's only response was to groan and push his head further into the pillows.

"And the staff think I'm bad, I wonder what they would say if they saw how lazy you are in the morning."

Arthur was suddenly wide awake and sat up facing Merlin with a vicious expression.

"What did you just say?"

Merlin put on his best, innocent smile. "I said, 'Time to wake up, Sire'."

The two stayed locked in eye contact for a moment. Merlin fighting to keep his face straight under Arthur's searching gaze. Eventually the prince let out an exasperated noise and swung himself out of bed. He stalked towards the table where the breakfast was waiting.

"I am not lazy," he muttered in a defensive tone. Merlin smiled. Nothing got Arthur out of bed better than an insult to his pride, or, he had to concede, mortal danger. That time that an ensorcelled badger had broken into the bedchamber he had been out of bed like a shot.

Merlin tried to immerse himself in their normal morning routine but it was a challenge today. He was still in too much of a good mood to focus properly. Not to mention the fact that he now kept remembering moments from the incident that Merlin had dubbed the Great Badger Bedroom Battle and Arthur had dubbed the Incident Which Merlin is Never to Tell Anyone About, Ever.

Merlin realised that Arthur had been looking at him in an odd manner for some time. He realised he may have been chuckling to himself out loud.

"I wasn't thinking about the badger!" The words were out of his mouth before he had had a chance to process their stupidity.

He winced, expecting the normal anger, object throwing and threats of the stocks that normally accompanied any mention of the "b" word from Merlin. Arthur, however, didn't even seem to register it, he just sat there not eating his breakfast and staring in Merlin's general direction with a weird kind of consternation.

"Arthur is everything alright?" Merlin asked, moving over to place his hand on Arthur's shoulder his amused mood from a moment ago rapidly fading into genuine concern. Arthur quickly jerked away from the contact though, scraping his chair back as he stood and rapidly moved to the window.

"Of course _Mer_lin, I don't know why you would be thinking otherwise and don't think I didn't hear ..." He suddenly stopped mid sentence and stared more intently out of the window.

"Merlin," he suddenly snapped, "the other knights are heading to training already. Have you made me late again?"

"Maybe they're all just trying to get there early to impress you." It sounded a little pathetic even to his own ears.

"Or maybe they all have servants that are actually capable of arriving on time in the morning! Now don't just stand there like the idiot you are, I need to get dressed. Now!"

Merlin sighed as he rushed to sort Arthur's training gear. He should have known it was too much to expect not to get yelled at on his birthday.

Arthur was storming through the castle and Merlin was struggling to keep up carrying his sword and the jacket he seemed to think he hadn't the time to put on.

"I can't believe I am going to be late to my own training session, we are going to have to do something about your incompetence Merlin." Inside Merlin was fuming but he decided to bite back on his scathing retort. Past experience had taught him that insulting a trained warrior on the way to the field where he hit things with a sword was a very foolish and painful idea. And Gaius said he never learned anything. Still, Merlin was a bit confused. It was actually a rare occasion that Arthur was late in the mornings and the other knights quite often assembled early anyway to try and get some practice before their Prince started judging them. It almost seemed like Arthur was going out of his way to make a big point about this. It was just like Arthur to make everything about him on Merlin's birthday.

Merlin was relieved to see Arthur slowing down as they approached the training field, and tried to catch his breath a bit as the Prince turned to talk to him.

"Merlin, I think I may have come up with a plan to help solve your problems with tardiness in the mornings."

"That's a big word for you."

"Pardon, Merlin?"

"Nothing."

"Well, don't you want to hear my brilliant idea?"

"Not really." Merlin was glad the sound of the knights talking and practicing seemed to be masking his muttered comments from the Prince; because he carried on as if Merlin had responded with positive enthusiasm.

"Well I have decided ..." Arthur apparently noticed the level of background noise as well because he suddenly raised his voice quite a lot, "I have decided to move you into the chamber adjoining mine." Suddenly the training field had gone silent as everyone had turned to look at them. Arthur hadn't seemed to notice though as he continued in an equally loud tone, "So that your ... services will be available to me whenever I want them." Merlin felt the blush creeping across his face as the entire training field continued to stare at the two of them. He was sure Arthur had put that unusual emphasis on the word _services_ just to point out how useless he actually deemed Merlin's efforts to be. It was just like Arthur to point out his incompetence in front of a field full of people.

Arthur finally seemed to notice that everyone was staring at them. At least he had the good grace to look a little embarrassed.

"What are you all doing just standing around with your mouths open for? Get moving!" he yelled. Merlin quickly deposited the rest of his things as Arthur started sparring with the knight who had been the slowest to respond. He thought about staying to watch the practice for a while but quickly changed his mind. Quite a few of the knights were still casting him sidelong looks whenever they thought Arthur wasn't looking. Merlin turned and left the field. He should have known he was wrong earlier in the morning. Arthur had proved more than capable of spoiling his good mood after all.


End file.
